Understanding the effects of inflammation

Plus more health news | Email not displaying correctly? [View it in your browser.]( [Health Matters]( [Inflammation can be a deadly culprit]( By Mandy Oaklander Senior Health Editor You don't have to look sick to be sick. There are all kinds of invisible illnesses—and inflammation, a helpful bodily process that can turn harmful when it persists even at low levels, is behind many of them, writes Dr. Shilpa Ravella, a gastroenterologist and author of the recent book A Silent Fire: The Story of Inflammation, Diet & Disease. Here's what Ravella reveals about inflammation in her piece for TIME: - It’s evolutionary. Hyperactive immune systems helped protect us from rampant dangers like infections in olden times. Though our environments have become safer, our immune systems are still "exceptionally sensitive to the triggers of this new world," she writes. - It's tied to aging. Many of the illnesses linked to inflammation—stroke, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer's—are more common in older people. That's no coincidence. “‘Inflammaging’—the hidden inflammation of old age—is one of several essential factors that drive aging in humans,” Ravella writes. - Moving more will help. Regular exercise calms chronic inflammation, even if your workout doesn’t result in weight loss. - Inflammation is being unmasked. Blood and imaging tests are now being used to detect inflammation. “Unveiling this force—seeing what has long been unseen—is poised to make its mark on medicine,” she writes. [READ MORE]( Share This Story What Else to Read [How the Abortion Pill Ruling Could Limit the FDA’s Authority]( By Alice Park That a judge may be able to suspend the FDA’s approval of a drug opens the door to undermining the agency’s authority. [Read More »]( [Free COVID-19 Testing May Soon Go Away]( By Matthew Perrone/AP You may have to pick up some or all of the costs, depending on insurance coverage and whether the tests are done at home. [Read More »]( [How to Connect With Loved Ones After They Die]( By Dina Gachman For millennia, humans have 'seen' or communed with or sensed the dead. [Read More »]( [Syphilis Rates Jumped by Nearly a Third in 2021, CDC Says]( By Ilena Peng/Bloomberg “The U.S. STI epidemic shows no signs of slowing.” [Read More »]( [How to Get Better Sleep When You Have IBD]( By Markham Heid The relationship between IBD and sleep issues is complex, but experts are learning about the most effective remedies. [Read More »]( AN EXPERT VOICE "Resilient people will look for the positive things in adversity...they've got this capacity to roll with the punches, to be laid-back." —Gordon Parker, professor of psychiatry at the University of New South Wales --------------------------------------------------------------- If you were forwarded this and want to sign up to receive it daily, [click here](. Today's newsletter was written by Mandy Oaklander and Jamie Ducharme, and edited by Angela Haupt. [Want more from TIME? Sign up for our other newsletters.]( [Subscribe to TIME]( TIME may receive compensation for some links to products and services in this email. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Connect with TIME via [Facebook]( | [Twitter]( | [Newsletters]( [UNSUBSCRIBE]( [PRIVACY POLICY]( [YOUR CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS]( TIME Customer Service, P.O. Box 37508, Boone, IA 50037-0508 Questions? Contact health@time.com Copyright © 2023 TIME USA, LLC. All rights reserved.